March 3rd 1969 sees the launch of the Apollo 9 mission with its multi tasked objectives for testing the Apollo Lunar Module(LM)in Earth orbit. The mission had a number of objectives which had to be carried out to ensure that man would set foot on the surface of the Moon by the end of the decade. The mission would see:-

1. The 1st manned LM launch2. The 1st docking extraction of the LM3. The 1st time a LM had been manned in space4. The 1st EVA with the Apollo backpack system5. The 1st time that a Command Module Pilot had flown the alone6. The 1st un-docking of a LM in space7. The 1st LM thruster firing in space8. The 1st Assent and Decent engine firing of a LM in space9. The 1st docking of two manned spacecraft in space.

I dedicate this picture to the crew of Apollo 9, Jim McDivitt, Dave Scott and Rusty Schweickart, whose efforts during the Apollo 9 mission ensured that man would indeed walk on the surface of the Moon in July 1969.